Tuesday's multi-sport local and college roundup: Tides earn split vs. Clippers with Game 2 comeback

Cord Phelps hit a three-run triple as the Norfolk Tides rallied in Game 2 for a 7-4 victory over Columbus to earn a split of Tuesday afternoon's soggy doubleheader against the Clippers at Harbor Park.

In Game 1, the Clippers broke through for three runs in the final inning, the seventh, to win 3-0.

Facing a sweep, the Tides (8-17) trailed 4-1 before scoring once in the fourth and five in the sixth to overcome Columbus (11-13), the Cleveland Indians' top affiliate.

Singles by Johnny Monell and Ivan De Jesus, followed by a wild pitch by Vinnie Pestano and a walk to Quintin Berry, loaded the bases.

Columbus third baseman Ryan Rohlinger mishandled Julio Borbon's ground ball, letting the Tides trim their deficit to 4-3. Phelps, a former longtime Clipper, then lined a triple to right field to put the Tides ahead for good. He then scored on Xavier Paul's sacrifice fly to center field.

Tides starter T.J. McFarland was ineffective, but Kelvin De La Cruz got the win by pitching a scoreless sixth. Preston Guilmet, who was traded by Cleveland to Baltimore early this season, got the save.

De Jesus was 2-for-3 with two runs.

The Tides' Suk-min Yoon enjoyed his best start of the season, yielding just two hits, no runs and three walks in five innings while striking out five. Columbus starter T.J. House pitched 5 1/3 innings, scattering eight hits.

Brad Brach, who took the mound to begin the seventh inning, took the loss, yielding all three runs.

Ryan Rohlinger singled and went to second on Matt Carson's sacrifice bunt. After a wild pitch, Roberto Perez hit an RBI single to right.

Tim Fedroff then singled Perez to third, from where he scored on Jose Ramirez's sacrifice fly. Fedroff stole second, went to third on a throwing error by catcher Caleb Joseph and scored on Justin Sellers' double.

Eastern League:

TheRichmondFlying Squirrels reinstated their 1 1/2-game lead in the Western Division, slogging past Bowie 3-1 on a misty Education Day promotion at The Diamond.

In a game that started at 10:35 a.m., Jarrett Parker -- who grew up in Fredericksburg and starred for U.Va. -- gave Richmond (14-10) the lead for good with a triple to left-center, scoring Myles Schroder for a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. Angel Villalona doubled home Parker to make it 3-1.

Defending champion Virginia (23-2) was seeded fourth in the 64-team NCAA tournament field, but the ACC tournament winners will have a strong chance to repeat.

Like the other top-16 seeds, the Cavaliers will host two rounds on the weekend of May 10-12. U.Va. will face Patriot League champion Army (20-5), with Colonial Athletic Association champion UNC Wilmington (15-6) and at-large pick Penn State (21-5) facing each other in Charlottesville.

The winners of those two matches will play on U.Va.'s courts for a berth in Athens, Ga., for the round of 16.

The only other team from the state in the field is Virginia Tech, which gained an at-large bid with a strong finish. The Hokies will play at No. 16 seed Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn.

If the Hokies can pull an upset -- which they did against Wake Forest in the ACC tournament to solidify their at-large selection -- they'll play the winner between East Tennessee State (14-8) and Columbia (20-1). ...

Four Christopher Newport players gained All-Capital Athletic Conference second-team honors. They included sophomore Chiraag Shetty, a Tabb High graduate who was honored in singles and doubles.

Freshmen Steven Boslet and Arttu Fiva were honored in singles, while senior Joey Manilla was cited with Shetty in doubles.

Women's tennis:

Virginia (21-5), which won the ACC tournament for the first time last weekend, was rewarded with its highest NCAA seed ever: No. 3.

Like their men, U.Va.'s women will be at home for two rounds. They will meet Youngstown State (14-11), and the other match on their courts will pit Kentucky (16-11) and Columbia (16-4). The first-round victors will meet for a berth in Athens.

VCU(12-9), which won the Atlantic 10 tournament, got a stiff challenge. The Rams will travel to Chapel Hill to face No. 7North Carolina, a title contender. The Tar Heels, guided by former William and Mary coach Brian Kalbas, are 24-5, with three of those losses to Duke -- the No. 4 seed.

Freshman Maureen Slattery of Newport News plays No. 1 singles for Denver (14-8), whose Summit League tournament title got the Pioneers an automatic bid. They will be interlopers in a group of schools from the Lone Star State.

Denver will travel to Waco, Texas, to face Rice (17-6). The victor between them will face No. 14 Baylor (24-6), the pod's host, or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (22-5). ...

Mary Washington sophomore Shelby Harris of Newport News, aiming for her second All-American season in a row, repeated on the All-Capital Athletic Conference first team.

CNU freshman Logan Eldridge was named the CAC Rookie of the Year. She made the All-CAC second team, as did three of her teammates: Warhill High graduate Brook Byrd, Katie Carlson and senior Kelsey Clark.

All four of those Captains were in their first spring of college dual play. Byrd and Carlson are freshmen, and Clark -- well-known as a player on CNU's NCAA semifinal field hockey squad -- hadn't played for a tennis team since high school.

Men's golf:

Old Dominion placed ninth in the Conference USA tournament, shooting a 49-over-par 889 for 54 holes in Edmond, Okla.

Rice won the crown at 861, one shot better than Alabama Birmingham. Tulsa's Matt Mabrey won the medal at 1-under 209, while David Langley led the Monarchs by tying for 12th at 218.

U.Va. awards:

Morgan Brian (the consensus national women’s soccer Player of the Year) and Joe Harris (men’s basketball) were honored as Virginia’s top female and male athletes for the school year.